146 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept,  i,  1896. 
As  freight  is  generally  cheaper  hy  water  than  by 
land,  a navigable  river  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
plantation  is  to  be  preferred  even  to  a railway.  In 
many  parts  of  the  country  roads  can  scarcely  be 
said  to  exist,  and  the  necessity  for  railway  or  water 
communication  to  within  a moderate  distance  of 
the  plantation  is  even  greater  than  it  would  be  iii 
more  advanced  countries.  It  must  also  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  cultivation  of  coffee  is  almost  always 
combined  with  that  of  other  crops,  some  of  which 
are  very  bulky  and  cannot  easily  be  disposed  of 
without  facilities  of  transport. 
4.  It  is  very  desirable  to  settle  in  a district 
where  labour  is  easily  obtained,  and  although  some 
authorities  maintain  that  imported  labourers  are 
more  easily  controlled,  the  expense  of  introducing 
them  is  considerable,  and  many  practical  difficulties 
have  to  be  overcome. 
Wages. — The  wages  paid  vary  in  different  districts, 
but  the  average  rate  for  the  whole  country  was 
officially  estimated  in  1892  at  37c.  Mexican  currency 
(or  did.)  per  diem.  Since  that  date  prices  have 
certainly  risen'  and  the  daily  wage  is  now  generally 
placed  at  about  50c.  (Is.  Iff.).  Both  employers  and 
employed  frequently  prefer  piecework  to  a daily 
wage,  particularly  for  such  work  as  clearing  land 
before  planting  the  coffee. 
Lauour. — The  Mexican  labourer  requires  careful 
handling  if  the  most  is  to  be  made  of  him.  A rich 
soil  and  a tropical  climate  supply  nearly  all  his 
requirements,  v'ith  little  effort  on  his  part,  and  he 
will  not  easily  submit  to  harsh  or  unfair  treatment 
from  his  employer. 
Many  planters  find  it  advantageous  to  give  their 
labourers  small  allotments,  which  they  can  cultivate 
themselves,  in  addition  to  their  wages.  They  main- 
tain that  the  labourers  themselves  appreciate  this 
system,  and  that  where  it  is  in  force  they  become 
more  disposed  to  remain  working  on  the  same  es- 
tate. 
In  some  districts  the  Labour  Question  is  the 
planter’s  chief  difficulty.  The  coffee  plants  must  be 
kept  clean,  and  the  berries  must  be  picked  at  the 
proper  time.  These  operations  cannot  he  postponed, 
and  it  is  useless  to  undertake  coffee  cultivation 
without  a sufficient  supply  of  hands. 
The  Pi.ANTATioN. — As  the  best  coffee  lands  are 
almost  invariably  covered  with  forest  or  jungle,  the 
planter’s  first  task  is  to  clear  this  away.  'The  brush- 
wood is  cut  out  with  the  “machete,”  a species  of 
cutlass ; and  the  heavy  timber  is  afterwards  felled 
with  an  axe.  Such  timber  as  can  be  used  on  the 
estate  or  can  be  disposed  of  is  then  removed,  and 
the  remainder  is  afterwards  fired.  On  most  planta- 
tions in  Mexico  it  is  usual  to  preserve  the  large 
trees  for  shade ; but  in  districts  where  the  best  cli- 
matic conditions  exist  this  is  unnecessary.  Much 
shade  is  in  itself  detrimeutal  to  the  fullgrown  coffee 
plant,  and  localities  where  it  is  required  owing  to 
great  sun  heat  and  lack  of  proper  moisture  should  be 
avoided.* 
* Although  there  can  he  little  doubt  that  where 
the  climate  is  most  suited  to  the  growth  of  the  coffee 
plant  shade  is  iiuiii  ccss.uy  and  even  injurious,  the 
practice  of  ha\mg  most  of  the  larger  trees  of  the 
naturol  forest  as  shade  for  the  coffee  trees  is  so 
general  in  Mexico  that  it  cannot  bo  passed  by  with- 
out fuller  notice.  Many  persons  possessing  consider- 
able experience  of  coffee  planting  in  Mexico  will  even 
be  found  to  maintain  that  shade  is  absolutely  essen- 
tial, and  it  is  quite  possible  that  in  the  districts 
with  which  they  arc  best  acquainted  such  may  be 
the  case.  On  the  other  hand,  in  countries  where 
coffee  has  been  extensively  cultivated  for  a longer 
time  than  in  Mexico,  the  plant  certainly  succeeds 
better  without  shade.  Tuitlier  experiment  is  per- 
haps required  before  a definite  conclusion  can 
be  arrived  at  as  regards  this  country,  but  it 
will  scarcely  be  denied  by  the  most  enthusiastic 
supporter  of  the  Mexican  system  that  the  tendency 
has  been  to  make  ilio  shade  too  thick.  The  truth 
seems  to  bo  that  coffee  can  be  cultivated  prolitably 
in  districts  which  are  not  naturally  suited  for  it, 
and  that  in  some  of  these  shade  is  really  necessary 
NuHSEniEs.* — When  the  clearing  of  the  land  is 
commenced,  a suitable  spot  is  selected  for  sowing 
the  coffee-bean,  in  order  to  establish  a nursery,  to 
be  made  use  of  in  the  following  year.  Trees  required 
for  the  first  planting  are  generally  purchased  from 
existing  coffee  plantations.  The  spot  selected  for 
the  nursery  should  be  thoroughly  cleared  of  trees, 
should  be  easily  irrigated,  and  of  average  fertility. 
In  Mexico  it  is  usual  to  leave  some  of  the  trees  as 
shade,  but  in  other  places  it  has  been  found  that 
the  drip  is  injurious  to  the  young  plants,  and  that 
it  is  far  better  to  arrange  a shade  of  cut  brushwood. 
Long  ridges  are  formed  with  a width  of  from  4 to 
6 feet,  with  walks  between,  in  order  that  the  work- 
men may  later  on  reach  the  plants  when  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  clean  them.  In  forming  the  ridges  the 
earth  should  be  well  broken  with  hoes  to  a depth 
of  at  least  6 inches,  the  stones  picked  out,  and  the 
surface  smoothed  down.  The  ground  is  then  ready 
for  the  coffeebean.  The  beans  are  dispulped  and 
allowed  to  foment,  so  as  to  admit  of  the  saccharine 
matter  being  washed  off.  When  this  is  done  the 
beans  that  float  on  the  top  of  the  water  are  taken 
away  as  being  unsuitable,  and  those  which  sink  to 
the  bottom  are  placed  to  dry  for  one  day  in  the 
sun,  and  for  two  additional  days  in  the  shade. 
They  are  then  ready  to  be  sown. 
The  sowers  make  small  furrows  in  the  earth 
with  a pointed  staff  across  the  ridges,  at  a distance 
of  5 inches  apart,  and  2J  inches  deep.  Another  la- 
bourer follows,  placing  the  coffee-beans  in  the  fur- 
rows 4 inches  apart,  until  the  ridge  is  finished. 
The  beans  are  then  lightly  covered  with  well-sifted 
earth,  without  been  pressed  down,  and  are  after- 
wards watered  with  a sprinkler.  Subsequently  the 
ground  is  watered  every  two  or  three  days,  and  in 
from  forty  to  sixty  days  the  plant  begins  to  grow. 
Care  must  afterwards  be  taken  to  keep  the  ridges 
free  from  weeds,  and  in  about  eight  months  the  plairt  is 
ready  for  trausplanting. 
Slightly  different  methods  are  sometimes  adopted, 
and  sometimes  the  young  plants  found  growing  un- 
derneath the  coffee  trees  are  planted  direct  in  the 
plantations,  but  this  system  is  no  longer  considered 
a good  one,  and  has  been  generally  abandoned. 
'The  time  for  sowing  varies  in  different  States, 
and  in  some  of  them  sowing  is  carried  on  at  all 
times  of  the  year.  It  is  desirable,  however,  to  time 
the  sowing  of  the  seed  in  the  nurseries  in  such  a 
way  that  the  plants  n ay  be  from  8 to  9 inches  high 
in  the  planting  season.  It  may  be  noted  that  in 
Mexico  the  plants  arc  often  kept  much  longer  in  the 
nurseries,  but  this  plan  has  not  been  found  to 
answer  in  otlier  countries,  where  the  scientific 
study  of  coffee  cultivation  is  much  more  general 
than  is  the  case  here. 
In  transplanting  the  trees  to  their  final  destina- 
tion, the  labourers  should  be  given  a base  line, 
from  which  a rope  should  be  stretched  at  right- 
angles,  with  marks  at  the  required  distances,  say 
(3  feet  apart.  An  acre  of  ground  holds  about  9.50 
trees,  planted  6 feet  apart,  with  7 feet  between  the 
rows.  This  opening  is  very  generally  adopted, 
though  some  planters  in  this  country  prefer  to 
plant  at  greater  distances.  Special  care  should  be 
taken  in  planting  the  trees  that  the  tap  root  is  not 
twisted  or  bent,  hfipping  off  the  tender  portion,  if 
done  in  the  right  way,  does  not  materially  affect 
the  growth  of  the  tree,  and  obviates  the  danger  of 
its  being  turned  up,  which  in  a year  or  two  kills 
the  plant,  The  other  precautions  to  be  taken  in  plant- 
ing do  not  require  special  mention,  as  they  are  such 
as  would  commend  themselves  to  anyone  having 
even  a slight  knowlor^ge  of  arboriculture.  The  best 
time  for  planting  is  the  early'  part  of  the  rainy  season. 
to  protect  the  plant  from  the  excessive  heat  of  the 
sun.  Owners  of  land  in  comparatively  hot  and  dry 
districts  may  find  it  necessary  to  shade  their  plants 
with  forest  trees  or,  in  extreme  cases,  even  with 
bananas,  but  such  localities  should  be  avoided  by 
persons  who  have  a free  liand  in  the  selection  of 
a site  for  their  plantation. 
^ 'The  following  description  is  mainly  taken  from 
a,  work  by  Mr.  Taylor. 
